SOME  ACCOUNT  OE  THEIR 


APPEARANCE,  CHARACTER,  CONDITION,  AND 
PECULIAR  CUSTOMS. 


BY  CHARLES  NORDHOIT. 


NEW-YORK : 

CHARLES  T.  EVANS,  448  BROADWAY 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA: 


SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THEIR 

APPEARANCE,  CHARACTER,  CONDITION, 
AND  PECULIAR  CUSTOMS. 

BY  CHARLES  NORDHOFF. 


Port  Royal,  March  20,  1863. 

As  the  ship  steams  up  to  her  anchorage  in  the  broad  bay  of 
Port  Royal,  she  passes  numerous  men-of-\var  launches  and  cutters, 
propelled  by  the  regular  and  lusty  strokes  of  black  oarsmen  neatly 
dressed  in  Scotch  caps,  substantial  pea-jackets,  and  blue  flannel 
shirts  and  trowsers. 

The  anchor  is  scarcely  down  when  the  Provost- Marshal's  boat — 
the  little  “tug”  Relief — puffs  alongside,  and  peering  curiously 
down  on  her  deck  you  notice  as  many  black  faces  as  white  among 
her  crew. 

If  you  are  permitted  to  land  by  this  steamer,  you  may  see,  as 
I saw,  during  the  passage  to  the  long  wharf,  a shining  black  face 
suddenly  popping  up  from  the  dog-hole,  which  is  called  “ fore- 
castle ” on  shipboard,  a pair  of  black  hands  rapidly  turning  over 
the  well-thumbed  pages  of  a primer ; and  if  you  have  interest  to 
watch  further,  you  will  see  a black  South-Carolinian  learning  to 
read.  I must  warn  you,  that  in  looking  on  at  this  process,  you 
commit  a grave  offence  against  the  whole  “Southern  Confed- 
eracy;” while  if  you  should  rashly  venture  to  help  Sam  in  his 
lesson  of  the  day,  you  become  guilty  of  a crime  held  infamous  in 
Sam’s  native  State,  and  convicted  of  which,  fifty  miles  from  Hilton 
Head,  you  would  share  the  fate  of  burglars  and  murderers. 

If  some  heavily-laden  steamship  such  as  the  Arago  should  chanc'e 
to  be  unloading  at  the  wharf,  you  will  see  four  or  five  hundred 


2 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


stout  black  fellows  working  like  beavers,  rolling  casks  and  barrels, 
moving  boxes,  and  carrying  burdens  of  all  kinds. 

If,  after  dinner,  you  ride  out  to  General  Drayton’s  plantation, 
you  may  see  tbe  camp-ground  of  the  First  regiment  of  South-Car- 
olina  volunteers.  General  Drayton  was  the  leading  rebel  in  this 
region — the  commander  of  that  force  “ born  insensible  to  fear,” 
which  ran  away  from  Du  Pont’s  shells — and  his  “ place  ” was  fitly 
assigned  by  General  Hunter  for  the  camp  of  the  “ First  Loyal 
South-Carolinas.” 

By  the  time  you  have  seen  all  this,  you  begin  to  lose  faith  in  the 
person  who  assured  you  that  the  negroes  of  Port  Royal  are  an  idle, 
dissolute,  worthless  set  of  creatures,  who  are  supported  at  an  enor- 
mous expense  by  an  abolition  government,  etc.,  etc.  You  see,  on 
the  contrary,  that  black  men  are  usefully  employed  in  the  navy,  in 
the  army,  and  as  laborers  by  the  Quartermaster’s  Department. 
When  you  have  looked  around  a little  farther,  you  will  find  that 
in  yet  other  useful  work  not  only  black  men,  but  black  women  and 
children,  are  busily  and  profitably  engaged. 

There  are  at  this  time  within  our  lines  in  South-Carolina  about 
twelve  thousand  colored  people,  as  absolutely  free  men  and  women 
as  the  same  population  of  whites  in  any  military  department  where 
martial  law  is  strictly  enforced.  A census  of  the  freedmen  has 
just  been  taken,  but  the  returns  are  not  yet  all  at  hand.  Accord- 
ing to  a census  taken  on  the  first  of  May,  1862,  there  were  then  in 
South-Carolina,  on  the  plantations  within  our  lines  nine  thousand 
and  fifty.  To  this  number  have  been  added  since,  five  hundred 
refugees  from  Santee ; five  hundred  from  St.  Simon’s  Island,  and 
about  four  hundred  from  other  parts.  There  are  besides,  accord- 
ing to  the  more  recent  census,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  freed  people  living  in  Beaufort. 

I must  repeat  that  these  people  are  absolutely  and  entirely  free. 
No  attempt  is  made  to  control  them,  either  by  special  laws,  or  by 
any  coercion,  other  than  that  to  which  all  men  and  women  submit 
in  a civilized  state.  If  I should  add  that,  nevertheless,  they  have 
murdered  no  white  men,  have  injured  no  white  women  or  children ; 
that  they  have  burned  no  houses,  destroyed  no  property;  that 
crimes  against  the  person  are  almost  unknown,  crimes  against  pro- 
perty not  more  frequent  than  in  any  equal  population  of  ignorant 
whites  ; that  the  only  murder  committed  by  a black  man  since  the 
islands  have  been  ours  was  an  act  for  the  exact  parallel  of  which  a 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


3 


Congressman,  now  a general  in  the  Union  armies,  was  held  justi- 
fied by  a jury,  and  by  a large  part  of  the  public,  especially  in  the 
slave  States — if  I should  add  all  this,  I am  aware  that  my  story 
would  seem  to  many  ignorant  persons  as  absurd  and  impossible  as 
a wise  public  once  thought  Bruce’s  or  M.  Du  Chaillu’s.  But  I 
should  nevertheless  have  told  the  simple  truth. 

The  planters  have  always  persuaded  us  that  their  four  millions 
of  slaves  were  a dangerous  class ; and  the  precautions  they  took 
and  their  evident  apprehensions  in  regard  to  this  population  prove 
that  they  were  in  earnest.  As  slaves  then,  they  were  dangerous  to 
the  community,  so  every  slaveholder  told  you : as  free  men  they 
have  proved  themselves  peaceable,  law-abiding  and  useful.  As 
slaves,  special  laws,  cruel  punishments  and  disgraceful  guards  were 
required — in  the  opinion  of  the  slaveholders  — to  keep  them  from 
murder  and  rapine  ; but  our  experience  in  these  Sea  Islands  shows 
that  as  freemen  these  same  people  are  so  harmless,  so  kind,  so 
ready  to  submit  to  all  laws  and  to  all  proper  guidance,  so  averse 
from  violence,  that  in  all  parts  of  the  island  ladies  are  stationed  as 
teachers,  and  move  about  among  them  unguarded,  unarmed  and 
unharmed.  The  recent  order  of  General  Hunter,  drafting  all  able- 
bodied  blacks  into  the  army,  is  enforced  by  black  soldiers,  squads 
of  whom  are  sent  over  the  islands  to  pick  up  conscripts.  A new 
broom  sweeps  clean  : the  negro  soldiers  are  zealous  — sometimes 
they  display  more  zeal  than  discretion.  At  St.  Helena  their  search 
for  recruits  was  conducted  somewhat  rudely.  It  is  reported  that 
they  took^n  old  man  of  seventy  and  several  boys  under  age. 
Thej'  entere^fcbe  school-houses  and  the  churches  where  schools  are 
assembled.  They  frightened  the  children,  many  of  whom  ran 
home,  seeing  fierce-looking  armed  men  rushing  in  among  them 
with  bayonets  fixed.  They  searched  under  the  old-fashioned  pews 
for  fugitives.  In  one  place  a black  soldier  even  drew  a sabre  to 
compel  a man  to  go  along  with  him.  I was  on  the  island  two  or 
three  days  afterward,  and  saw  a number  of  the  teachers  and  super-, 
intendents,  but  I heard  not  the  slightest  complaint  of  even  chance 
incivility,  from  the  ladies,  who  were  entirely  defenceless  in  their 
lonely  little  country  schools. 

The  South  Caroliua  freedmen  are  not  paupers.  They  receive  no 
support  of  any  kind  from  the  Government,  nor  charity  from  any 
source.  They  have  done  almost  all  the  work  in  the  Quartermaster’s 
Department ; they  have,  besides  this,  raised  on  the  plantations,  dur- 


4 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


ing  the  past  year  of  freedom,  sufficient  food  to  supply  themselves. 
In  the  season  they  have  sold  garden  vegetables,  melons,  etc.,  to 
the  troops  to  a considerable  amount ; they  have  furnished  a full 
regiment,  and  more,  of  soldiers  ; and  besides  this,  they  have  raised, 
gathered,  ginned  and  packed  seventy-five  thousand  pounds  of  Sea 
Island  cotton,  which  will  presently  come  to  market. 

I have  before  me  papers  from  which  the  following  figures  are 
drawn.  Of  the  nine  thousand  and  fifty  freed  people  of  color  on  the 
island  on  the  first  of  May,  1862,  three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
nineteen  were  children  “ under  quarter  hands,”  as  it  is  called  — 
that  is  to  say,  under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  unfit  to  work.  There 
were  six  hundred  and  ninety-three  infirm  and  old.  There  remain- 
ed four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men,  women  and 
youth,  all  of  whom  are  workers.  Of  these,  three  hundred  and  nine 
were  returned  as  mechanics  and  hbuse-servants,  unused  to  work  in 
the  fields.  The  remainder  were  all  laborers,  fit  and  willing  for  all 
kinds  of  unskilled  work. 

If  you  consider  these  figures  for  a moment,  you  will  see  the  im- 
mense importance  to  the  rebels  of  their  slave  population.  For  a 
time  of  war,  when  the  whole  energies  of  a great  region  must  be 
used  only  to  feed  great  armies,  no  doubt  four  millions  of  people 
trained  to  labor  as  the  slaves  of  the  Southern  States  have  been,  are 
equal  to  six  millions  of  any  other  population.  As  you  ride  through 
the  islands  you  will  find  this  thought  frequently  recurring  to  your 
mind.  It  is  just  now  the  time  when  the  fields  are  made  ready  for 
corn  and  cotton.  The  able-bodied  men  have  been  drawn  away  to 
work  in  the  Quartermaster’s  Department  and  to  serve  in  the  army  ; 
but  the  field  work  does  not  therefore  stop.  On  every  side  you  see 
women,  and  boys  and  girls,  working  with  their  heavy,  ungainly 
but  effective  hoes,  preparing  the  ground.  It  is  found  that  the  wo- 
men are  in  fact  more  persevering  in  their  industry  than  the  men. 
Their  earnings  are,  on  the  average,  quite  as  great  as  those  of  the 
men  who  work  in  the  fields.  This  is  shown  by  the  labor  books. 
But  I must  add  that  it  is  not  the  opinion  of  some  among  the  black 
men.  Harry,  a smart  fellow,  who  manages  a plantation  on  St.  He- 
lena’s Island,  said  to  me  : 

“ De  men’s  nearly  all  gone,  now,  sir,  and  so  de  work  don’t  go 
on  ; for,  you  see,  de  women  don’t  work  well  when  de  men’s  gone.” 

“ But,”  said  I,  “ Harry,  the  women  do  work ; I see  them  on 
every  hand,  busy  in  the  field.” 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


“Yes,  sir,  dey  work”  was  his  reply,  “hut  dey  don’t  work  like 
men.  After  all,  sir,  one  good-fornuffm  man’s  worth  two  smart 
women  any  day.” 

Have  you  not  heard  some  such  opinions  from  ignorant  men  in 
the  North  ? 

I hope  I have  made  it  plain  that  the  freedmen  of  South-Carolina 
are  not  a burden  to  any  one.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  been  of 
great  service  to  us.  If  the  rebels  had  been  able  to  carry  off  all  the 
negroes  with  them,  they  would  have  very  seriously  embarrassed 
our  operations  in  the  Department  of  the  South.  By  the  Quarter- 
master alone  about  one  thousand  able-bodied  blacks  are  employed. 
They  receive  five  dollars  per  month  and  a soldier’s  ration. 

To  have  brought  white  laborers  from  the  North  to  perform  this 
severe  but  necessary  work  would  have  cost  a great  sum  in  the  first 
place  for  transportation,  and  at  least  double  the  amount  now  paid 
in  wages.  Colored  mechanics  employed  by  the  military  authorities 
are  paid  eight  dollars  per  month  and  a soldier’s  ration.  Some,  the 
most  capable,  receive  as  much  as  twelve  to  fifteen  dollars  per 
month. 

There  is  no  cause  to  fear  that  the  conscription  will  bring  suffer- 
ing or  want  on  the  freed  people  of  this  region.  General  Hunter’s 
order  takes  away  from  his  home  and  puts  into  the  public  service, 
either  as  laborer  in  the  Quartermaster’s  Department,  or  as  soldier, 
every  able-bodied  man  of  the  population.  But  the  wants  of  those  who 
remain  behind  are  so  few,  and,  as  I have  shown,  the  women  are  to 
so  great  a degree  accustomed  to  dig  and  hoe,  plant  and  harvest, 
that  the  culture  of  the  soil,  their  chief  dependence,  cannot  be  inju- 
riously affected. 

While  slaves,  the  only  food  these  negroes  on  the  Sea  Islands  of 
Carolina  received  from  their  masters  was  one  peck  of  Indian  corn 
per  week.  On  a very  few  plantations  the  masters  gave  in  addition, 
dui  tag  the  season  when  the  field-work  was  most  exhausting,  a little 
bacon  twice  or  thrice  in  the  week.  Fresh  meat  they  tasted,  pro- 
bably, once  or  twice  in  the  year,  as  at  Christmas  and  on  Independ- 
ence-day. An  old  woman  said : “ My  missus  she  bery  mean  wo- 
man, bery  mean  woman,  indeed — she  kill  a cow  once  in  t’ree 
year !” 

They  ground  their  peck  of  corn  in  small  mills  turned  by  hand, 
after  the  day’s  work  was  done.  They  had  no  other  allowance  of 
food  from  their  masters  except  a little  salt.  But  in  every  cabin  I 
found  a scoop-net,  and  every  cove  and  inlet  abounds  in  mullet  and 


6 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


other  fish.  Oysters  are  also  abundant;  and  you  hear  pigs  squeal- 
ing and  hens  cackling  around  all  the  “ quarters.”  The  last  they 
raise  to  sell,  and  not  to  eat. 

Insufficient  nourishment  and  untimely  work  has  affected  the 
health  of  these  people.  I am  told  by  physicians  here,  that  scrof- 
ulous diseases  are  commoner  than  among  a similar  population  in 
the  free  States,  and  rupture  is  also  more  frequent.  The  recruiting 
officer  will  not  find  an  equal  proportion  of  able-bodied  men  for  the 
army  here  as  with  a like  population  in  the  North,  but  for  field- 
work even  those  unfit  for  arms  are  still  able.  They  understand 
very  well,  themselves,  that  they  have  not  had  a fair  chance  in  this 
way.  The  women  tell  you  that  they  will  raise  stronger  children 
now  that  they  are  not  worked  so  hard,  for  it  was  the  custom  here 
to  extort  field-work  from  pregnant  women  up  to  the  very  day 
when  their  children  were  born,  and  when  the  child  was  two  weeks 
old  the  poor  mother  was  again  sent  to  work  with  her  hoe.  I 
noticed  in  most  of  the  large  cotton-fields,  single  palmetto-trees,  of 
considerable  size,  dotted  like  sentinels,  at  regular  intervals,  over 
the  field ; it  was  easy  to  see  that  they  had  been  planted  there  for  a 
purpose,  and  on  asking,  I was  told  by  the  people  that  under  these 
trees  the  mothers  left  their  young  babies,  in  charge  of  some  old 
crone,  while  they  were  busy  with  the  hoe,  and  hither  they  came  to 
suckle  the  little  ones  at  appointed  hours.  It  was,  I think,  the  only 
labor  or  time-saving  arrangement  I saw  on  these  islands,  contrived 
by  slaveholders,  and  that  saved  time  and  labor  only  for  their 
profit. 

Aunt  Phillis,  an  old  woman  on  one  of  the  Pope  plantations, 
speaking  one  day  of  the  changes  she  noticed  since  the  flight  of  the 
masters,  remarked : 

“De  chillen  what’s  born  sence  de  Yankees  cum,  dey’s  fat,  dey’s 
big  and  hearty.  Dey  an’t  like  dem  in  de  old  time.  De  chillen 
born  in  de  old  time,  dey  poor  tings,  dey  lean,  lean  like  buzzard — 
you  know  buzzard,  massa?  Dem  chillen  lean  jest  like  buzzard.” 

“ For  why,”  she  continued,  “ dey  used  to  make  we  work,  work, 
work,  so  poor  moder  hab  nuffin  to  gib  her  child — child  starve 
’fore  it  born — dat’s  what  make  ’em  lean,  like  buzzard.” 

For  a people  living  under  a patriarchal  system,  they  display  a 
singular  dislike  to  the  patriarchs.  I find  the  testimony  universal, 
that  the  masters  were  “ mean.”  All  were  not  cruel,  but  all  were 
hard  task-masters,  so  their  former  subjects  say. 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


7 


“ Dey’s  all  mean  alike,”  said  one  man,  when  closely  questioned. 
Now  there  was  one  Fripps,  a planter  on  one  of  the  islands,  of 
whom  the  blacks  habitually  speak  as  “good  Mr.  Fripps.”  “Come 
now,  Sam,”  said  the  questioner,  “there  was  good  Mr.  Fripps,  he 
could  not  have  been  mean.” 

“ Yes,  sah,  he  bad  to  his  people  same  as  any  of  ’em.” 

“ Why  do  you  call  him  good  Mr.  Fripps,  then?” 

“ Oh!”  said  Sam,  “ dat  no  tell  he  good  to  we;  call  him  good’ 
’cause  he  good  Metodis’  man — he  sing  and  pray  loud  on  Sundys.” 

I heard  no  words  of  hatred  toward  the  masters ; but  the  expres- 
sion of  horror  which  overspread  many  of  their  faces,  particularly 
among  the  women,  at  a suggestion,  soberly  made,  that  “old  massa” 
might  presently  come  back,  was  painful  to  me — and  surely  dis- 
graceful to  the  runaway  patriarchs. 

“ Suppose,  if  we  get  to  Charleston,  we  catch  your  master,”  said 
one  of  our  company,  to  a woman  at  Pope’s,  “shall  we  bring  him 
here  ?” 

“ Oh ! don’t,  massa,  don’t  bring  him  here ; we  no  want  to  see 
him  nebber  more,"  shouted  a chorus  of  women. 

“ But  what  shall  we  do  with  him?” 

“ Do  what  you  please,”  said  the  chorus. 

“ Shall  we  hang  him  ?” 

“ If  you  want,  massa” — somewhat  thoughtfully. 

“ But  shall  we  bring  him  here  and  hang  him  ?” 

Chorus — much  excited  and  shriller  than  ever — “ No,  no,  don’t 
fetch  him  here,  we  no  want  to  see  him  nebber  more  again !” 

Aunt  Phillis  told  how  her  master  built  his  new  house  only  the 
year  before  the  rebellion,  and  “ sarve  him  right,  he  no  get  good  of 
it.  Suppose  he  good  to  we  he  no  run  away,  he  stay  in  his  house. 
But  he  mean  man,  he  run  away  now,  he  nebber  come  back.” 

She  dwells  much  upon  the  fact  that  her  master  had  paid  much 
money  for  the  house,  “ great  deal  of  money,  much  as  twenty 
thousand  dollar.”  I asked : “ Where  did  your  master  get  so  much 
money  ?”  At  this  the  old  woman  rose  in  her  bed — she  was  sick, 
and  my  friends  were  paying  her  a visit  of  kindness  — and  with 
some  excitement  exclaimed : 

“Whar  he  git  he  money?  Whar  he  git  he  money?  Is  dat 
what  you  ask — whar  he  got  he  money  ? I show  you.  massa.” 
Pushing  up  her  sleeve,  she  showed  a gaunt,  skinny,  black  arm, 


8 


PAPERS  OF  THE  HAY. 


and  tapping  it  energetically  with  her  fore-finger,  exclaimed  : “You 
see  dat,  massa?  Dat’s  wliar  he  got  he  money — out  o’  dat  black 
skin  he  got  he  money.” 

I have  set  down  as  nearly  as  I can  the  rude  jargon  in  which 
they  speak.  The  tones  of  the  voice  are  impossible  to  give,  and 
they  give  a wonderful  force  to  such  a conversation,  as  that  above 
related.  They  are  highly  dramatic,  and  present  a narrative  in  the 
conversational  form,  which  makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  follow 
their  rapid  and  thick  utterance.  I found  it  impossible  to  under- 
stand all  they  said,  when  speaking  with  those  who  had  been  field- 
hands.  They  have  a curious  accent,  something  like  that  of  a 
Frenchman  speaking  English  poorly ; but,  in  addition,  they  have 
numerous  contractions,  inversions  of  form,  and  cant  phrases, 
which  make  the  unaccustomed  listener’s  task  more  difficult.  “I 
go  shum,”  was  a puzzler  to  me,  often  occurring,  till  I learned  that 
“shum”  is  simply  a contraction  for  “see  him,”  and  the  whole 
phrase  means  generally,  “ I will  go  and  see  about  it.” 

Men  like  the  Harry  whom  I have  mentioned,  who  have  been  ac- 
customed to  work  about  the  house  — Harry  had  been  his  master’s 
manager — speak  plainly  enough ; and  as  the  children  learn  to  read 
in  the  schools,  they  also  will  come  gradually  to  speak  correctly. 
There  are  already  signs  of  improvement  in  this  respect.  It  is  very 
desirable  that  the  rising  generation  should  be  taught  to  speak  the 
language  correctly.  The  jargon  of  the  old  people  is  really,  in 
many  cases,  a barrier  to  intercourse,  and  gave  me,  unconsciously, 
sometimes  the  feeling  that  I was  speaking  writk  foreigners. 

Port  Royal,  March  25,  1863. 

My  first  visit  was  to  Hilton  Head  Island,  and  here  I noticed 
but  very  few  mulattoes.  Yearly  all  the  people  are  pure  black. 
On  St.  Helena  and  other  Islands  the  proportion  of  yellow  people 
is  greater,  but  on  Port  Royal  Island  they  form  a considerable  part 
of  the  population,  especially  in  Beaufort.  There  are  no  statistics 
to  show  the  number  of  each  complexion.  I was  told  that  among 
the  documents  found  when  our  forces  took  possession  were  a great 
number  of  records  or  manifests  of  shipments  of  slaves  made  from 
Hilton  Head,  in  years  past,  with  a descriptive  list  of  each  “ chat- 
tel and  those  who  examined  these  lists  found  that  the  greater 
number  of  those  sold  away  wer|  of  the  mixed  blood.  Thus  the 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


9 


planters  and  overseers  profitably  rid  themselves  of  the  evidences 
of  their  vice  and  guilt. 

In  Miss  Kennedy’s  school,  at  Beaufort,  I saw  a child  perfectly 
beautiful  and  charming — a little  girl,  some  six  or  seven  years  old, 
by  complexion  a clear  brunette,  with  slightly  “wavy  ” hair,  regu- 
lar, almost  classic  features,  and  the  most  graceful  motions.  It  was 
a child  that  any  one  might  be  proud  of,  but  its  father  had  taken 
no  thought  of  this  little  one  when  he  fled  from  the  terror  of  the 
“Yankees,”  unless,  perhaps,  he  thought  bitterly  of  the  thousands 
of  dollars  she  would  have  brought  him  in  a few  years,  exposed  on 
the  auction-block. 

I suppose  it  was  mere  chance  that  in  the  schools  I visited  I 
found  the  best  scholars  to  be  among  the  pure  blacks.  My  tests 
were  by  no  means  sufficient  to  found  a theory  on  ; and  I heard  no 
one  generalizing  in  the  matter.  The  little  child  mentioned  above, 
though  evidently  bright,  was  certainly  behind  her  class-mates  with 
her  reading  and  spelling;  but  then  pretty  children  are  scarcely 
ever  good  students.  In  her  class,  the  boy  who  outspelled  every 
body,  in  my  hearing,  and  who  was  equal  to  every  hard  word  given 
out,  was  as  black  as  night,  and  in  features  and  gesture  a regular 
“Jim  Crow.”  In  almost  all  the  schools  you  find  children  with 
blue  eyes  and  light  hair — oftenest  yellow.  One  boy  I saw  in  Miss 
Town’s  school  on  St.  Helena’s,  who  had  the  square  head,  the 
“shock  ” of  hair,  and  much  of  the  expression  of  Bobert  Toombs, 
of  Georgia. 

The  children  in  the  schools  are  of  all  sizes  and  ages.  Generally, 
in  one  corner  of  the  room  you  will  find  half  a dozen  or  a dozen 
girls  nearly  grown  ; and  from  that  they  range  down  to  little  urchins 
of  four  and  five  years.  The  larger  girls  I always  found  dressed 
with  neatness  and  propriety  ; the  mass  of  the  school,  however,  is 
clad  in  a curious  and  inexhaustible  variety  of  rags,  of  all  shades 
and  materials.  On  Sunday,  children  and  parents  come  to  church 
in  better  clothing,  and  many  of  tbe  women  have  finery,  and  even 
wear  hoops.  The  rags  seemed  to  me  clean,  which  is  the  main 
point;  but  they  hung  upon  the  little  fellows  in  the  oddest  ways 
imaginable ; and  some  of  the  materials  were  of  the  most  curious. 
I think  it  was  Captain  Hooper  who  described  to  me  a boy  he  met 
going  to  school  in  the  morning,  clad  in  a shirt  of  Brussels,  and  a 
pair  of  trowsers  of  ingrain  carpet.  You  see,  they  use  what  comes 
to  hand. 


10 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


Their  conduct  in  the  schools  is  satisfactory  to  the  teachers. 
They  are  restless,  as  all  children  are;  for  my  part,  with  doors  arid 
windows  open,  and  the  warm  sunlight  shining  in  upon  the  busy 
company  of  spellers  and  readers,  I wondered  that  they  could  be 
kept  in  at  all.  The  attendance  is  regular,  the  parents  being 
anxious  that  their  children  shall  learn.  I heard  no  complaints 
from  teachers ; and  I am  sure  that  these  ladies  would  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  manage,  in  a ISTew-England  or  Western  country  school,  such 
big  boys  as  I saw  sitting  submissive  under  their  rule.  They  take 
great  delight  in  singing,  which  is  very  properly  a part  of  the  daily 
routine.  They  have  fine  voices,  and  an  excellent  ear  for  time ; 
and  some  of  the  larger  boys  roar  a deep  bass.  Besides  the  songs 
which  have  been  introduced  by  the  teachers,  they  have  their  own, 
of  which  the  melodies  are  always  quaint,  and  often  full  of  music. 
‘‘Boll,  Jordan,  Boll,”  has  a glorious  swing.  The  words  mostly 
tell  of  death,  and  the  happier  life  beyond;  and  in  fact,  all  the 
songs  I heard,  even  among  the  boatmen  and  other  grown  people, 
related  to  Scripture  stories  and  religious  sentiment. 

One  song,  sung  with  peculiar  force  and  unction,  had  for  refrain 
an  aspiration  for  liberty  which  not  even  the  masters,  probably, 
ventured  to  check.  I remember  but  two  lines  : 

“ I’ll  follow  Jesus’s  ways, 
iVo  man  can  hinder  me! 

I’ll  do  what  Jesus  says. 

No  man  can  hinder  me  /’’ 

The  first  stanza  of  another  clings  to  me,  as  curious  a bit  of  folk- 
song as  I ever  met : 

“Old  massa  Death, 

He’s  a very  little  man, 

He  goes  from  door  to  door ; 

He  kills  some  souls, 

And  he  woundeth  some. 

Good  Lord,  remember  me ; 

Good  Lord,  remember  me ; 

Remember  me  as  the  years  roll  round, 

Good  Lord,  remember  me.” 

I trust  the  teachers  will  gather  up  and  preserve  not  only  the 
words  but  the  melodies  which  are  thus  sung.  They  will  quickly 
disappear ; and  some  of  them  are  eminently  worth  preserving. 

The  people  remain  for  the  most  part  in  their  old  homes.  Some 
have  removed  to  Beaufort,  where  there  is  a considerable  demand 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


11 


for  servants  and  other  laborers ; and  on  Hilton  Head  Island  the 
necessities  of  the  Quartermaster’s  Department,  which  employs  there 
alone  some  six  hundred  men,  have  brought  many  families  down 
to  the  fort.  Outside  of  its  limits  General  Mitchel  caused  a village 
to  be  laid  out,  where  there  are  now  upwards  of  a hundred  houses ; 
and  on  General  Drayton’s  place  another  is  growing  up  from  the 
same  demand.  General  Mitchel’s  village  was  unfortunately  laid 
out  on  too  contracted  a scale.  The  plot  of  ground  assigned  to  each 
cottage  is  not  large  enough  to  furnish  support  to  the  owners,  as  it 
is  desirable,  for  the  present,  at  least,  that  it  should — the  women 
being  quite  capable  and  ready  to  cultivate  the  ground.  It  seemed 
to  me,  too,  that  the  site  chosen  was  the  least  fertile  I saw.  I am 
afraid  some  city-bred  surveyor  was  engaged  to  do  the  work,  more 
used  to  measuring  mother  earth  by  the  inch  than  by  the  rood. 
However,  the  people  are  contented  and  industrious;  I saw  the 
women  and  children  in  every  “lot,”  planting  sweet  potatoes,  and 
preparing  the  ground  for  corn.  I observed  that  wood-ashes  are 
used  as  manure. 

“Ef  only  de  Yankees  whips  ’em,”  said  an  old  woman  to  me, 
“ I’se  happy.”  There  is  a degree  of  uncertainty  about  their  posi- 
tion and  about  their  future  which  is  doubtless  a clog  upon  their 
enterprise — yet  it  does  not  affect  them  greatly. 

Not  only  have  the  greater  number  of  the  people  remained  on 
their  old  plantations,  but  they  still  live  in  their  old  quarters,  they 
continue  to  work  in  their  old  “ tasks,”  they  display  the  same  strong 
local  attachment  which  Mr.  Sewell  noticed  as  characteristic  of  the 
black  freedmen  in  the  British  West-Indies.  It  is  known  through- 
out  the  Department  that  General  Hunter  never  refuses  a negro  the 
necessary  pass  to  take  him  to  the  North  ; but  not  a dozen  applica- 
tions have  been  made  since  our  occupation  began — and  of  the  half- 
dozen  blacks  who  have  ventured  from  here  to  the  Northern  States, 
several  have  returned. 

This  attachment  to  their  old  homes  is  very  strong,  but  they  love 
liberty  even  more  than  home,  as  they  have  shown  in  numerous  in- 
stances. Some  months  ago  all  the  negroes  on  a plantation  within 
the  enemy’s  lines,  seventy-six  in  number,  fled  in  one  night,  in  an 
old  scow,  and  landed  next  morning  on  Port  Royal  Island.  Their 
master  had  told  them  that  when  they  had  gathered  his  crop  he 
meant  to  remove  them  a little  farther  back,  where  the  Yankees 
could  not  get  at  them,  to  sell  them  to  Cuba.  The  very  next  night 


12 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


men,  women  and  children  packed  up,  put  their  bundles  into  a 
scow,  and  drifted  down  into  our  lines.  Negroes  frequently  come 
here  from  the  interior.  Not  long  since  ten  fellows,  who  belonged 
nearly  a hundred  miles  inland  from  Hilton  Head,  were  sent  as 
spies,  to  report  on  the  situation  and  defences  of  a region  they  were 
familiar  with.  They  were  gone  a number  of  days  on  their  hazard- 
ous undertaking,  and  brought  General  Hunter  what  he  considered 
a satisfactory  and  accurate  report.  But  they  brought  back  also 
their  wives  and  children. 

When  our  forces  evacuated  Edisto  Island,  last  year,  sixteen  hun- 
dred blacks  left  their  homes  and  all  their  property,  rather  than  run 
the  risk  of  falling  again  into  the  hands  of  their  masters.  These 
people  had  their  corn  and  cotton  growing  finely ; they  were  a 
happy  and  prosperous  community,  living  where  they  had  always 
lived.  They  were  given  their  choice,  to  remain  or  to  become 
exiles;  leaving  all  their  property  behind.  Not  a man  or  woman 
remained.  They  preferred  to  lose  every  thing  else,  in  order  to  as- 
sure their  liberty.  It  is  very  plain,  that  to  produce  that  “invasion 
of  black  laborers  in  the  free  States,”  of  which  some  foolish  and 
wicked  persons  at  the  North  speak  so  often,  we  have  only  to  main- 
tain slavery  in  the  South.  If  by  any  chance  the  region  here  in 
our  possession  could  be  once  more  declared  slave  soil,  not  a negro 
would  remain  here — all  would  fly  to  New-York.  But  while  they 
can  be  free  here,  not  one  desires  to  go  North. 

I am  ashamed  to  say  that  the  love  of  liberty,  felt  and  shown  by 
these  people,  constantly  surprised  me.  We  who  have  not  been 
slaves  do  not  appreciate  the  horrors  of  that  state,  nor  will  you  ever 
know  the  endurance  and  ardor  of  that  love  of  liberty  which  God 
has  planted  in  the  breasts  of  all  men  and  women,  till  you  see  it 
shining  out  in  the  faces  of  these  ignorant  and. abused  fellow-men  ; 
till  you  learn  how  it  has  made  brave  the  hearts  of  their  most  timid 
women,  how  it  has  nerved  them  to  face  every  danger,  to  suffer 
every  loss,  to  sacrifice  every  feeling,  that  they  may  secure  freedom. 

The  results  of  emancipation  in  the  West-Indies  proved  long  ago 
that  the  negro,  free,  is  not  that  fatal  lover  of  idleness  which  the 
master  always  proclaimed  him.  On  these  Sea  Islands  the  freed- 
men  have  shown  themselves  industrious  and  willing  workers,  and 
that  without  the  slightest  compulsion.  Many  have  even  shown 
enterprise,  which  was  not  to  be  expected  of  them,  from  their  ante- 
cedents. Last  summer,  Barnwell  and  Hall  Islands  were  evacuated 


THE  FREEMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


13 


by  our  troops.  When  the  pickets  were  removed,  the  blacks  were 
also  taken  to  Port  Royal  Island.  They  left  their  crops  of  corn, 
potatoes  and  cotton,  standing.  They  discovered  presently  that  the 
rebels  did  not  take  possession  ; and  emboldened  by  this,  petitioned 
for  permission  to  return  and  care  for  their  crops.  Leave  was 
granted,  but  they  were  warned  that  no  guards  would  protect  them, 
that  it  was  at  their  own  risk  they  ventured  back.  This  independ- 
ent colony  returned,  tended  and  harvested  their  corn  and  cotton 
without  the  guidance  of  a superintendent,  and  for  months  without 
the  slightest  encouragement  or  pay ; and  I saw  cotton  of  their 
raising  in  the  gin-house  at  Beaufort.  These  two  islands  lie  very 
near  Port  Royal  Island,  and  doubtless  they  felt  tolerably  secure 
from  capture  in  the  fact  that  flight  was  easy,  and  a refuge  near  at 
hand. 

The  old  plantation  lines  are  preserved  in  the  administration  of 
affairs,  and  thus  the  circumstances  of  the  people  are  but.  little 
changed,  except  in  the  great  matter  that  they  were  slaves  and  are 
now  free.  The  system  of  administration  which  has  been  adopted 
is  probably  as  good  as  could  be  contrived.  It  has  the  great  merit 
that  it  interferes  very  little  with  the  people,  but  leaves  them  almost 
altogether  to  their  own  guidance,  and  regards  them  as  self-support- 
ing men  and  women. 

The  islands  in  our  possession  are  divided  into  four  districts. 
The  first  embraces  Port  Royal  and  Cat  and  Cane  Islands ; the 
second  comprises  St.  Helena’s,  Ladies’,  Wassa,  Coosaw,  Dathaw, 
and  Morgan  islands ; the.  third  consists  of  Hilton  Head  and  Pinck- 
ney Islands  ; the  fourth,  Paris  Island.  The  first  division,  of  which 
Mr.  II.  G.  Judd  is  General  Superintendent,  has  sixty  plantations, 
which  are  arranged  in  twenty-three  districts,  each  of  which  has  a 
local  superintendent.  The  second,  Richard  Soule,  Jr.,  General  Su- 
perintendent, has  twenty-five  districts,  comprising  eighty-two  plan- 
tations. The  third,  Rev.  Thomas  D.  Howard,  General  Superintend- 
ent, has  four  districts.  The  fourth,  Paris  Island,  of  which  Mrs.  F. 
D.  Gage  is  General  Superintendent,  has  two  districts. 

The  duties  of  the  superintendents  are  necessarily  general.  They 
form  a kind  of  local  magistracy,  to  whom  disputes  are  referred ; 
but  they  also  take  charge  of  the  plantations,  keep  the  accounts, 
apportion  the  land  according  to  rules  laid  down,  look  after  Govern- 
ment property,  and  exercise  such  supervision  as  is  found  necessary. 
The  local  superintendents  make  semi-monthly  reports  to  the  general 


14 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


superintendent,  and  they  meet  frequently  for  consultation  and  to 
compare  experiences. 

The  people  “ are  made  responsible  for  planting  and  cultivating 
sufficient  corn  and  potatoes  for  their  own  subsistence.”  This  is  the 
groundwork.  To  enable  them  to  do  this,  each  family  has  an  allot- 
ment of  ground,  at  the  rate  of  two  acres  for  each  working  hand, 
and  five  sixteenths  of  an  acre  (one  task  and  one  quarter  task)  for 
each  child.  The  superintendents  make  the  allotments  in  such 
manner  that  there  shall  be  no  waste  land.  The  “task”  is  a quar- 
ter of  an  acre;  and  the  old  plantations  are  all  marked  off  by  pecu- 
liar ridges,  so  that  the  labor  of  allotting  ground  is  not  great. 

The  land  is  held  to  belong  to  the  Government,  and  to  pay  for  its 
use  and  for  the  use  of  the  cattle  necessary  to  its  cultivation  each 
community  or  plantation  is  obliged  to  till  as  much  land  as  will 
support  the  cattle,  with  an  acre  for  the  superintendent,  an  acre  and 
a hal£  for  the  plantation  ploughman,  and  an  acre  for  every  infirm 
or  disabled  person.  It  will  be  seen  that  each  community  is  thus  at 
once  made  self  supporting,  and  takes  care  of  its  own  paupers. 

It  was  thought  well  not  to  intermit  altogether  the  cultivation  of 
cotton,  and  accordingly,  at  the  commencement  of  the  season  of 
1862,  the  people  agreed  to  undertake,  in  addition  to  their  own 
allotments,  each  a certain  space  of  cotton  land.  For  labor  on  these 
they  are  paid  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents  for  the  day's  work, 
the  nature  and  extent  of  which  is  strictly  defined.  That  is  to  say, 
they  are  paid  not  by  the  day,  but  for  the  amount  of  work  each 
performs.  In  addition  to  this,  they  are  paid  two  and  a half  cents 
per  pound  for  the  cotton  each  raises  and  picks.  Such  of  them,  if 
any,  as  do  not  choose  to  work  in  the  cotton  fields,  are  required  to 
pay  two  dollars  per  month  rent  for  the  houses  and  lands  they 
occupy.  There  are  some  additional  expenses  necessary  before  the 
cotton  is  ready  for  market,  as  for  assorting,  bagging,  ginning,  moat- 
ing and  packing,  the  whole  cost  of  -which  is  three  cents  per  pound. 

Under  this  system  a cotton  crop  has  been  raised  by  free  labor, 
and  is  now  nearly  ready  for  market.  This  crop  amounts  to  seventy- 
five  thousand  pounds,  worth  now  in  this  market  at  least  one  dollar 
per  pound.  If  the  amount  does  not  seem  great,  we  must  remem- 
ber the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  raised.  Concisely  stated, 
the  drawbacks  on  successful  culture  were  as  follows : 

First.  It  was  not  determined  to  grow  cotton  till  the  season  was 
far  advanced ; and  the  superintendents  did  not  enter  on  their  labors 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLLNTA. 


15 


till  two  months  after  the  usual  time  for  commencing  to  prepare  the 
ground.  The  consequences  were,  hasty  and  insufficient  prepara- 
tion and  late  maturity,  which  gave  the  caterpillar,  cut-worm  and 
frost  a chance  to  injure  the  crop. 

Second.  A farther  delay  was  caused  by  the  time  required  to 
organize  labor  and  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  people ; and  all 
through  the  season  the  superintendents  not  only  had  no  money  to 
pay  the  workmen,  but  they  actually  bad  no  authority  to  make  any 
definite  arrangements  or  conclude  on  terms.  They  had  to  ask  the 
people  to  trust  to  them,  that  it  would  be  “ all  right.”  “ We  had  to 
run  our  face  in  the  most  shameless  manner,”  said  one  to  me. 
Finally,  after  the  ground  was  prepared  and  the  cotton  planted, 
which  is  the  heaviest  of  the  work,  the  laborers  were  paid  one  dollar 
per  acre,  which  is  only  about  half  what  the  work  is  fairly  worth. 

Third.  All  the  able-bodied  men  were  withdrawn  from  the  plant- 
ations, to  be  used  by  the  Quartermaster,  etc.  This  kept  back  the 
work  and  greatly  lessened,  of  course,  the  area  planted  and  the 
quantity  raised.  That  is  to  say,  the  women,  children,  and  old  and 
infirm  people,  raised  nearly  the  whole  of  this  crop. 

Fourth.  The  wTork  was  done  with  old  and  broken  tools,  there 
being  no  fresh  supply  at  hand. 

Fifth.  The  crop  was  put  in  so  late  that  an  early  frost  found  one 
half  the  cotton  still  in  the  field,  not  mature  enough  for  picking. 

I have  described  above  the  system  in  which  society  is  carried  on 
in  these  islands.  Strict  orders  forbid  the  issue  of  rations  to  any 
who  have  become  destitute  by  their  own  act  or  fault.  During  the 
past  year  there  have  come  to  our  lines  some  fifteen  hundred 
refugees;  besides  these,  sixteen  hundred  people  were  brought  from 
Edisto  when  our  forces  evacuated  that  island.  All  these  were  des- 
titute by  no  fault  of  theirs,  and  to  these,  of  course,  rations  were 
issued  for  a time.  Here  I must  explain  that  a “ contraband”  ration 
is,  by  no  means,  a soldiers  ration,  as  the  following  will  show : One 
hundred  rations  for  the  refugees  consist  of  seventy-five  pounds  hard 
bread,  one  gallon  of  molasses,  four  pounds  of  soap  and  three 
pounds  of  salt.  They  receive,  in  addition,  three  ounces  of  bacon 
each  per  day ; but  this  is  not  permanently  incorporated  in  the  ra- 
tion. Any  one  who  knows  what  a soldier’s  ration  is,  will  see  the 
great  difference  between  the  two. 

You  will  now  ask,  How  does  this  system  work?  I asked  what 
punishments  or  penalties  were  provided  for  refractory  or  utterly 


16 


PAPERS  OP  THE  DAY. 


indolent  and  improvident  negroes?  To  this  I got  no  definite  reply, 
and  found  the  reason  to  be  that  not  enough  of  such  cases  had  arisen 
so  far  to  necessitate  the  formation  of  a code.  We  have  none 
amongst  us  either  at  the  North — our  laws  take  no  account  of  the 
idle  and  improvident ; society  leaves  them  to  their  reward.  Even 
so  it  seems  to  be  among  these  people.  Here  was  another  instance, 
and  only  one  of  a hundred,  where  it  was  brought  home  to  me  that 
these  freedmen  are  men  and  women  as  we  are,  and  that  the  prob- 
lem of  forming  them  into  useful  members  of  society  is  divested 
of  most,  if  not  all,  its  difficulties  the  moment  we  make  this  the 
first  principle  ruling  our  plans.  “He  that  will  not  work,  neither 
let  him  eat  ” — that  is  the  whole  law  needed. 

It  remains  to  describe  more  particularly  the  customs,  peculiari- 
ties and  mode  of  life  of  these  freedmen,  and  this  I hope  to  do  in 
another  letter. 

Port  Royal,  April  3,  1863. 

I come  now  to  speak  more  particularly  of  the  people — their  cus- 
toms, mode  of  life  and  appearance. 

They  are  not  a good-looking  people.  I did  not  see  the  soldiers, 
who  are,  of  course,  the  flower  of  the  population ; they  were  in 
Florida.  But  I saw  those  employed  as  laborers  on  the  docks,  as 
well  as  those  remaining  on  the  plantations. 

In  the  schools  I was  struck  with  the  singular  shape  of  many 
heads.  Some  seemed  to  me  to  denote  a very  low  order  of  intel- 
lect ; but  I must  add,  that  the  two  children,  a boy  and  girl, 
whose  appearance  bespoke  the  least  mental  power,  were  counted 
among  the  best  scholars  in  their  school,  and  acquitted  themselves 
handsomely  in  my  presence.  They  were  the  children  of  a poor 
woman  who  had  been  for  many  years  cruelly  abused  by  her  mas- 
ter— so  far  as  I could  judge  from  her  story  and  that  of  others, 
because  she  possessed  an  unruly  tongue.  She  had  suffered  treat- 
ment so  inhuman  that  I can  not  describe  it  here ; I will  only  say, 
that  not  only  her  back  but  her  breasts  bore  deep  scars,  the  marks 
of  unmerciftil  and  brutal  flogging.  I could  not  help  thinking 
that  her  children  had  suffered  in  looks  and  development  from 
their  mother’s  condition. 

It  is  a fact  that  the  whole  population  bears  the  marks  of  bond- 
age. They  do  not  look  like  the  negroes  of  our  Northern  States, 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


17 


born  and  reared  in  freedom.  Compared  with  these  they  struck 
me  as  decidedly  a grade  lower  in  the  scale.  But  when  we  consider 
that  a generation  of  freedom  has  worked  this  improvement  in  our 
Northern  blacks,  we  need  not  despair  of  these  Carolinians. 

They  dress,  on  week  days,  in  a style  wrhich  does  not  add  to  their 
appearance.  The  rags  which  surprised  and  amused  me  as  worn  by 
the  school  children  were  repeated  on  their  parents.  Their  gowns 
do  not  often  fit  neatly ; the  clothes  seem  to  hang  upon  a field- 
hand,  realizing  the  old  sailor’s  figure  of  a “ purser’s  shirt  upon  a 
handspike and  to  see  a company  of  them  together  in  the  field 
made  me  think  of  an  extraordinary  collection  of  scarecrows.  Of 
course,  there  are  exceptions  ; those  who  were  house-servants  dress 
more  neatly,  and  those  now  servants  in  houses  do  as  'well.  But  I 
speak  of  the  greater  number. 

On  Sundays  the  men  and  women  put  on  their  best,  and  present 
a bright  and  cheerful  appearance.  They  are  fond  of  brilliant 
colors,  and  might,  I should  think,  be  easily  taught  the  art  of  fitting 
dress.  I ought  to  say  that  all  wrere  clad  with  propriety ; I saw 
nowhere  indecent  exposure  of  the  person. 

In  their  dress,  and  in  the  furnishing  of  their  cabins,  they  have 
changed  but  little  yet.  Taste  in  these  matters  has  to  be  acquired 
slowly;  they  have  always  been  accustomed  to  a certain  fashion  of 
house  and  dress,  and  know  nothing  beyond  or  different.  They 
have  no  models  before  them  to  imitate ; for  in  this  region  there 
were  but  two  classes,  the  slaves  and  the  masters — no  middle  class, 
enjo}’ing  cheap  comforts,  to  allure  the  class  below  them  to  a more 
inviting  mode  of  life. 

The  cabins  are  small,  and  contain  two  rooms — one  called  by  the 
people  the  hall,  wherein  is  the  great  open  fireplace;  the  other  a 
dark  hole,  in  which  the  older  people  sleep,  and  in  which,  too,  I 
believe,  their  valuables  are  kept.  Above  is  a loft,  a general  recep- 
tacle for  those  innumerable  odds  and  ends  which  the  slave  cherish- 
ed as  “ property.”  The  younger  people  of  the  house  sleep  on  rugs 
before  the  fire. 

Every  cabin  is  full  of  children,  of  all  sizes.  I stopped  in  one  to 
speak  to  a sick  woman,  and  was  presently  surrounded  by  half  a 
dozen  wide-eyed  youngsters,  the  mother,  with  a babe  in  her  arms, 
standing  near  me. 

“ You  have  a large  family,”  said  I to  her. 

“Yes,  sab,”  said  she,  not  quite  taking  in  my  question;  “I’ve 
2 


18 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


had  twenty-three  children.”  She  did  not  look  to  be  more  than 
forty  years  old. 

The  cabins  are,  for  the  most  part,  whitewashed  outside ; inside 
they  are  smoke-stained,  and  on  rainy  days  dark — for  there  are  no 
glass  windows — but  not  close,  the  fireplace  acting  as  an  excellent 
ventilator.  In  every  cabin  hung  a hand-net,  for  fishing ; near  all 
the  quarters  I saw  piles  of  oyster- shells.  On  rainy  days,  when 
out-door  work  is  impossible,  the  men  sit  at  home  and  mend  their 
nets,  while  the  women  sew.  I was  amused  at  the  exclamation  of 
an  old  woman : 

“ Why,  dese  Yankees,  dey’s  the  mos’  wonderful  people  I when 
dey  gives  you  needles,  dey  gives  you  tree  to  once!”  She  went  on 
to  explain  that  in  the  old  times,  her  mistress  gave  each  slave  wom- 
an one  needle  to  last  a whole  year ! 

Their  cabins  are  not  dirty,  but  they  have  a cheerless  look  to  a 
Northern  man.  Doubtless  those  men  who  are  now  employed  in 
the  army  and  navy  will  bring  back  with  them  improved  ideas  and 
new  wants,  and  will  work  a change  both  in  dress  and  furniture. 
I noticed  that  on  some  walls  were  hung  pictures  from  the  illus- 
trated journals ; and  I have  no  doubt  cheap  colored  prints  would 
find  a ready  sale. 

You  are  to  remember  that  not  only  have  these  people  no  stand- 
ard, or  model,  according  to  which  to  make  even  slight  improve- 
ments in  their  cottages,  but  they  have  never,  until  now,  had  the 
means,  even  if  they  knew  how ; and  even  now,  if  they  have  saved 
money,  they  can  not  buy — simply  because  they  are  not  sold  here 
— any  one  of  the  hundred  trifles  for  which  a Northern  housekeeper 
goes  to  the  “store”  across  the  street,  or  a little  way  down  the  lane, 
or  if  she  lives  too  far  away,  applies  to  the  peddler  when  he  comes 
along  on  his  high-perched  wagon.  The  day  which  sees  the  intro- 
duction on  these  islands  of  the  itinerant  Yankee  peddler  will  be  an 
important  one.  If  he  is  only  moderately  honest,  and  quick-witted, 
he  will  be  a valuable  helper  in  advancing  civilization  here. 

To  us,  who  have  been  long  accustomed  to  a certain  air  of  com- 
fort and  tidiness,  it  seems  extraordinary  that  these  people  should 
live  contentedly  in  the  way  they  do,  one  moment  longer  than  is 
absolutely  necessary.  In  our  minds  this  squalor  is  linked  with 
drunkenness  and  vicious  improvidence  ; and  we  unconsciously  dis- 
like those  who  live  in  this  condition.  These  were  my  emotions,  I 
confess,  when  I first  entered  the  cabins  of  the  people  here.  Those 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


19 


astounding  agglomerations  of  rags,  this  which  seemed  to  me  the 
most  dreary  discomfort,  the  gloom  through  which,  standing  before 
the  inner  room,  you  heard  a voice  — the  voice  of  some  old  crone — 
without  seeing  her  figure  ; all  this  made  my  heart  sink,  at  first,  and 
I said  to  myself:  “ Oh  ! dear ! oh  I dear  ! what  can  be  done  with 
all  this  ?” 

But  I fouud  that  the  rags  were  clean  ; that  you  can  safely  visit 
the  cabins — the  only  animal  likely  to  assail  you  there  being  the 
flea,  which  is  at  home  also  in  the  “ mansion.”  I found  that  the 
whole  affair  is  not  nearly  so  bad  as  it  looks ; and  when  I came  to 
compare  the  overseers’  and  the  planters’  houses  with  the  “ quarters,” 
I saw  in  the  one  as  many  traces  of  what  Miss  Ophelia  called  “shift- 
lessness,” as  in  the  other.  The  blacks  could  not  learn  from  the 
whites,  because  the  whites  themselves  did  not  know  what  comfort 
or  neatness  was.  Beaufort  was  probably  one  of  the  wealthiest 
places  in  the  South — it  was  the  home  of  wealthy  families  and  their 
house-slaves.  But  it  has  not  a single  one  of  the  many  convenien- 
ces which  so  quickly  gather  about  a New-England  village  or  a 
Western  town;  and  though  there  are  some  hundreds  of  houses  in 
the  place,  all  large,  roomy,  and  evidently  built  by  men  who  cared 
little  for  expense,  there  is,  I am  told,  but  one  in  the  place  which 
contains  what  wc  include  in  the  phrase  “ modern  conveniences.” 

Nor  are  you  to  forget  that  in  a state  of  slavery  these  blacks  were 
rigidly  kept  to  a certain  uniform,  in  dress  and  other  surroundings, 
which  was  the  mark  of  their  servile  condition,  just  as  were  the 
Jews  in  the  middle  ages.  In  fact,  many  things  here  reminded  me 
of  the  oppressions  practised  upon  the  Jews  in  Europe  almost  down 
to  our  own  days.  Like  the  blacks  they  were  regarded  as  of  a 
peculiar  race ; the  strongly  marked  physiognomy  of  the  Hebrew 
set  him  and  his  apart  quite  as  much,  in  Europe,  as  the  negro's  color 
separates  him  from  us ; and  any  one  who  has  travelled  through 
Germany  knows  that  the  prejudice  which  existed  there,  till  within 
twenty  years,  was  just  as  strong,  as  unreasoning,  and  apparently  as 
unconquerable,  as  that  which  prevails  in  this  country  against  the 
blacks.  Americans  know  but  little  of  the  violence  of  this  old-time 
prejudice  against  the  Jews  in  Germany;  but  any  German  who 
reads  this  will  bear  me  out  in  the  assertion  that  the  Jewish  face 
was  as  bitterly  despised  and  the  Jew's  rights  as  little  regarded  by 
the  common  people  in  that  country  thirty  years  ago  as  are  the  black 
.skin  and  the  rights  of  its  possessor  in  the  South  to-day. 


20 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


I am  making  no  excuse  for  the  blacks  in  all  this.  They  do  not 
need  it,  for  they  display  a disposition  to  make  a better  figure  in  the 
world,  which  proves  that  it  is  not  they,  but  their  masters,  who  are 
to  blame  if  they  make  a poor  show  now. 

“Stores”  have  been  established  on  different  parts  of  the  island 
for  the  use  of  the  blacks.  Some  of  these  were  set  up  by  superin- 
tendendents,  others  by  charitable  societies  in  the  North.  Here 
goods  are  sold  to  the  people  at  prices  which  cover  the  cost  and  ex- 
penses of  transportation  and  management  — that  is  to  say,  at  the 
same  rates  at  which  the  provident  New-Englander  buys  in  the  well- 
known  “ Union  Store,”  whose  sign  would  puzzle  many  a travelling 
Englishman.  The  terms  in  these  shops  are  “ strictly  cash noth- 
ing is  sold  on  credit.  I was  assured  that  the  wants  of  the  people, 
judged  by  this  excellent  index,  are  increasing;  every  new  supply 
laid  in  includes  a greater  variety  of  wares  ; and  it  happens  even 
that  negroes  on  St.  Helena  or  Port  Eoyal  islands  go  to  Beaufort  to 
buy,  because  they  can  not  obtain  what  they  want  nearer  at  hand. 
The  people  own  more  clothing  than  before — this  was  the  universal 
reply  to  my  questions  upon  this  point.  “ For  instance,  men  and 
women  I know  have  a pair  of  fine  shoes  for  Sunday  and  a pair  of 
coarse  shoes  for  working  days,”  said  one  to  me. 

Mr.  Philbrick,  who  has  had  great  experience,  amongst  them,  and 
who  himself  set  up  a “ store  ” in  the  district  of  which  he  had 
charge  last  year,  says  that  “ their  wants  are  increasing  about  as  fast 
as  their  ability  to  pay.”  In  his  shop  on  Coffin's  Point,  the  sales  of 
one  year,  among  a population  or  clientage  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
persons,  amounted — at  cost  and  expenses— to  quite  five  thousand 
dollars  ; all,  or  very  nearly  all,  paid  for  in  money. 

They  have  strong  affection  for  their  children.  It  is  well  known 
that  few  men  run  away  to  us  alone  ; as  a rule  they  come  off  bring- 
ing with  them  their  wives  and  little  ones  — often  from  great  dis- 
tances, and  at  frightful  risks.  An  intelligent  observer  remarked  to 
me  that  he  thought  they  were  more  careful  of  their  little  ones  now 
that  they — and  not  the  masters — own  them.  Perhaps.  The  little 
things  are  fat  enough,  and  are  easily  taught  the  virtue  of  obe- 
dience. 

The  people  are  universally  polite.  If  you  address  a man,  he 
touches  his  hat  to  you ; as  you  ride  past  the  quarter,  on  Sunday 
afternoons,  when  all  are  at  home,  the  women  gather  in  rows  out- 


THE  FREEDHEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLLNA. 


21 


side,  to  see  you,  and  the  whole  line  courtesies,  with  a sudden  bend 
of  the  knees,  which  has  a somewhat  comical  effect  at  first. 

While  slaves,  of  course  their  days  were  claimed  by  the  masters ; 
and  consequently  they  contracted  a habit  of  transacting  their  own 
private  business  after  nightfall.  If  you  remember  that  a whole 
community  was  thus  forced  to  provide  for  its  interests  after  sunset, 
you  will  see  what  a singular  state  of  affairs  obtained  in  this  way. 
Now  this  old  habit  still  prevails ; one  superintendent  remarked 
that  the  road  in  his  district  was  more  crowded,  and  more  people 
passed,  in  one  night  than  in  three  days.  There  results  sometimes 
this,  that  a superintendent,  going  to  his  stable  in  the  morning,  finds 
to  his  surprise  that  his  horse  seems  wearied  and  worn,  as  though  he 
had  been  ridden  all  night — and  no  one  knows  any  thing  about  it ; 
or  he  finds,  as  one  friend  did,  that  his  harness,  taken  off  the  horse 
the  evening  before,  will  not  fit  at  all;  it  is  too  large,  or  too  small;  it 
has  been  let  out,  or  taken  in.  In  feudal  Germany,  some  centuries 
ago,  such  incidents  were  common  too ; and  there  superstition  laid 
the  blame  to  some  evil-disposed  spirit,  some  Rubezal  or  other 
mountain  goblin,  who  thus  amused  himself  at  the  expense  of  the 
master.  But  our  more  matter-of-fact  Yankees  know  that  the  mys- 
terious rider  is  a fellow  with  a black  skin ; and  that  the  harness 
has  been  fitted,  over-night,  to  the  neighbor’s  pony,  or  to  the  lean 
Rosinante  of  the  ploughman. 

Another  odd  habit  created  by  their  enslaved  condition,  but  last- 
ing into  freedom,  is  this,  that  men  not  unfrequently  live  on  one 
place,  and  their  wives  in  another,  and  at  some  distance  away.  It 
is  curious  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  a habit,  once  formed,  covers 
up  its  tracks,  so  to  speak,  and  hides  its  origin.  Undoubtedly  this 
separatism  was  brought  about  by  the  fact  that  men  would  more  or 
less  frequently  take  for  wives  women  living  at  a distance,  and 
whom  their  masters  could  not  or  would  not  buy.  But  it  has  come 
about,  now,  that  young  men  prefer  to  live  at  home  and  cling  to 
their  mothers,  while  the  young  women  in  like  manner  cling  to  their 
fathers.  Professor  Zacchos,  on  Paris  Island,  related  to  me  a story 
exemplifying  this  trait,  which  has  a quaint  antique  flavor  and  man- 
ner about  it. 

It  seems  that  a young  fellow  on  Paris  Island  made  love  to,  and 
took  for  wife,  a young  girl  whose  family  lived  on  St.  Helena’s,  sep- 
arated from  Paris  by  a narrow  sound.  The  two  really  loved  each 
other ; they  were  married  in  regular  form ; but  after  living  some 


22 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


weeks  with  her  husband  the  girl  returned  one  day  to  her  father’s 
house,  and  there  remained.  The  husband  tried,  but  ineffectually, 
to  persuade  her  back ; she  was  ready  to  receive  him,  anxious  to 
see  him,  but  she  clung  to  her  father  and  mother,  and  these  support- 
ed her  in  this  course,  and  would  not  hear  of  her  going  away, 

One  day  the  husband,  exasperated  at  this  state  of  affairs,  collect- 
ed a number  of  young  fellows,  his  friends,  went  in  a boat  to  St. 
Helena’s  at  a time  when  his  wife’s  people  were  away  in  the  fields, 
and  forcibly  carried  her  off. 

There  the  affair  rested  for  some  days,  till  one  day  Dr.  Zacchos, 
who  knew  nothing  of  this  till  afterward,  was  called  to  settle  what 
threatened  to  be  a severe  and  even  a bloody  quarrel.  He  hastened 
to  the  scene  and  beheld,  drawn  up  on  opposite  sides,  two  bands  of 
men,  menacing  each  other  with  angry  looks,  and  midway  between 
them,  appealing  now  to  one  and  then  to  the  other  side,  a young 
girl. 

The  parents  had  determined  to  recapture  their  daughter ; the 
father  had  gathered  a party  of  friends,  and  with  them  crossed,  in 
his  turn,  to  Paris  Island,  had  seized  the  girl,  and  was  conveying 
her  to  his  boat,  when  the  husband,  collecting  also  a force,  advanced 
to  resist  this  novel  rape.  Neither  party  would  hear  reason,  and  a 
battle  was  imminent. 

The  presence  of  a white  man  produced  a momentary  calm.  On 
a hearing  of  the  case,  in  which  I believe  both  parties  agreed  as  to 
the  material  facts,  he  explained  to  the  people  that  Mary  had  will- 
ingly married  Sam ; that  she  still  loved  him,  according  to  her  own 
declaration ; and  that  whatever  might  have  been  the  custom  while 
slavery  prevailed,  it  was  now  right  that  husband  and  wife  should 
live  together.  The  parents,  he  declared,  had  no  more  claim  to 
their  daughter. 

At  this  there  was  evident  dissatisfaction  on  one  side ; whereupon 
the  faithful  Sam,  sure  of  his  wife’s  affection,  announced  that  it  was 
best  to  leave  it  to  her  decision.  Now  mark  what  was  her  judg- 
ment. She  said : 

“ I your  wife,  Sam ; I love  you  ; I love  my  fader  and  mudder 
too ; in  de  spring  time  and  in  harvest,  when  de  hard  work  is  in  de 
field,  I come  live  wid  you ; when  no  hard  work  to  do  in  de  field, 
den  I go  live  at  home  and  you  come  live  wid  me.” 

And  this  judgment  was  thought  so  reasonable,  that  public  opin- 
ion sustained  the  girl. 


THE  FEEEDMEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROL1NA. 


23 


Port  Royal,  April  25,  1863. 

The  questions  arising  from  the  unsettled  condition  of  family 
relations  among  these  South -Carolina  blacks  have  been  among  the 
most  delicate  which  came  up  for  decision  before  the  constituted 
authorities.  There  was,  I have  been  told,  no  such  thing  existing 
as  polygamy;  no  man  had,  or  pretended  to  have,  two  wives  at  the 
same  time ; but,  in  a number  of  cases,  men  desired  to  cast  off  the 
“ old  wives  ” whom  their  masters  had  given  them,  and  take  up 
with  other  women.  One  made  the  point  in  such  a case  that  no 
marriage  ceremony  had  ever  been  performed  to  bind  him  to  this 
woman ; that  he  exercised  no  choice  in  her  selection  even  ; and, 
no  doubt,  they  did  come  together  here  much  according  to  the  will 
of  the  master  or  overseer,  who  parcelled  out  wives  as  he  parcelled 
out  blows  or  tasks  in  the  field.  In  some  cases  the  people  were 
regularly  married;  in  very  many,  not. 

The  rule  made,  in  a General  Order,  to  apply  to  these  is,  that 
where  men  and  women  were  regularly  married  they  must  be  faith- 
ful to  each  other,  and  the  man  must  support  his  wife  and  children. 
Where  no  lawful  marriage  existed,  this  ceremony  is  performed  by 
some  minister;  and  if  two  women  claim  a man,  he  is  ordered  to 
cleave  to  the  mother  of  his  children.  Concubinage  and  unfaithful- 
ness to  marriage  vows  arc  made  punishable,  offences. 

Now  there  come  up  such  cases  as  this : A man  who  is  some- 
what notorious  as  a “rough”  among  his  people,  a strong,  self- 
willed,  determined  fellow — an  exception  to  the  rule,  so  far  as 
character  is  concerned — comes  to  head-quarters,  and  says  he  has 
never  willingly  lived  with  the  woman  who,  according  to  custom, 
was  his  wife ; he  does  not  love  her,  and  she  is  not  fond  of  him,  for 
they  never  agree,  (and  he,  I believe,  sometimes  beat  her.)  He  now 
wishes  to  marry ; but  he  has  chosen  a young  woman  for  wife,  with 
whom  he  has  been  living,  secretly,  for  more  than  a year — and  she 
is  about  to  become  a mother.  It  is  made  evident,  by  inquiry,  that 
these  two  have  a strong  affection  for  each  other;  he  is  extremely 
anxious  to  marry  her  before  her  child  is  born.  The  former  wife 
does  not  object,  but  consents. 

No  law  was  ever  framed  which  did  not  bear  hardly  on  some  one. 
I have  reason  to  believe  that  such  cases  as  that  I have  just  recited 
are  decided  in  a manner  to  cause  as  little  suffering  and  to  do  as 
little  mischief  as  possible. 


24 


PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY. 


The  marriage  relation  is,  in  general,  held  sacred.  I have  spoken 
in  a previous  letter  of  a negro  now  serving  a term  of  ten  years  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  Penitentiary,  who  slew  the  seducer  of  his 
wife.  He  was  held  justified  for  the  act  by  his  fellows,  and  that  is, 
perhaps,  a fair  index  of  the  state  of  public  sentiment  among  the 
people  on  this  subject. 

The  young  women  are,  so  far  as  I could  judge  from  careful 
inquiry,  not  eminently  chaste.  Public  opinion  did  not  compel 
them  to  virtuous  courses  under  the  old  slave  system.  There  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  indiscriminate  intercourse  obtained  to  any 
extent  among  the  slaves,  but  it  was  held  no  shame  to  a girl  to  bear 
children  under  any  circumstances ; the  planters,  I suppose,  encou- 
raged that  which  put  money  in  their  purses ; and  a different  and 
more  rigid  sentiment  has  not  yet,  I think,  generally  obtained.  One 
of  the  ablest  of  the  superintendents  told  me  that  he  was  in  the 
habit,  as  the  people  were,  at  first,  very  destitute,  of  giving  to  each 
mother  an  outfit  for  her  new-born  child ; of  course,  something  very 
simple — a dress,  and  one  or  two  other  articles,  perhaps.  This  was 
the  custom  of  the  planters  ; and  he  found  it  best  to  continue  it,  at 
least,  for  a time.  “ But,”  said  he,  “ I made  it  a rule  to  refuse  such 
gifts  to  the  young  unmarried  girls  who  applied.”  If  you  think  for 
a moment,  you  will  understand  what  is  implied  in  this  remark. 

To  establish  a different,  higher  standard  of  virtue  among  a peo- 
ple is  slow  work.  These  have  many  things  to  learn,  and  many  to 
unlearn. 

They  have  a habit  or  proneness  to  lying  which  is,  I think, 
clearly  one  of  the  old  effects  of  slavery.  They  can  see  no  wrong 
in  telling  that  story  which  shall  seem  in  their  judgment  best  calcu- 
lated to  produce  any  desired  effect — to  obtain  a favor,  to  please  a 
friend,  or  to  harm  an'  enemy.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
character  of  the  common  Hindoo  will  appreciate  this ; for,  in  this, 
the  negroes  and  they  are  precisely  alike — and  in  both  the  spirit 
which  has  no  faith  in  the  efficacy  or  value  of  truth  is  bred  of  ser- 
vility and  is  the  fruit  of  tyranny.  One  of  these  blacks,  fresh  from 
slavery,  will  most  adroitly  tell  you  precisely  what  you  want  to 
hear.  To  cross-examine  such  a creature  is  a task  of  the  most  deli- 
cate nature ; if  you  chance  to  put  a leading  question  he  will  answer 
to  its  spirit  as  closely  as  the  compass  needle  answers  to  the  mag- 
netic pole.  Ask  if  the  enemy  had  fifty  thousand  men,  and  he  will 


THE  FREEDHEN  OF  SOUTH-CAROLIHA. 


25 


be  sure  that  they  had  at  least  that  many ; express  your  belief  that 
they  had  not  five  thousand,  and  he  will  laugh  at  the  idea  of  their 
having  more  than  forty -five  hundred.  “ The  intelligent  and  relia- 

ble contraband”  is  the  dread  of  staff-  officers,  who  pump  him  vainly 
for  information  on  which  they  may  depend. 

In  Irish  trials  you  find  the  witness-box  full  of  such  witnesses  as 
these,  ready  to  swear  to  any  thing  which  may  serve  the  side  for 
which  their  sympathies  are  enlisted.  The  traditional  Irishman 
of  the  novel  is  precisely  such  an  “intelligent  and  reliable” 
creature. 

They  have  not,  as  a general  thing,  a craving  for  strong  drink. 
Some  have  learned,  while  living  among  white  men,  as  officers’  ser- 
vants, etc.,  to  love  whisky ; but  they  cannot  be  called  an  intem- 
perate people.  It  might  be  easy  to  make  them  so,  however ; I 
believe,  with  Captain  Hooker,  “ that  if  ably-managed  dram-shops 
should  be  established  at  suitable  points  on  these  islands  the  negroes 
would  soon  acquire  the  habit  of  intemperance — and  thus,  all  dis- 
tinctions of  race  in  this  respect  would  be  swept  away.” 

They  display  a desire  to  learn  reading.  It  is  not  uncommon  in 
Beaufort  to  see  the  workmen  on  the  wharves,  at  the  odd  nioments 
when  they  have  nothing  to  do,  busy  with  a primer  or  reader. 

Their  religious  feelings  are  strong  and  easily  excited.  They  all 
like  to  sing ; are  fond  of  devotional  meetings,  and  have  much  of 
that  curious  excitability  which  is  often  developed  in  Western  and 
Southern  camp-meetings.  What  is  called  a “shout”  is  oneway  in 
which  this  excitement  manifests  itself ; and  this  seems  to  be  an 
effect  of  the  same  nature  as  what  was  called  “the  jerks”  in  the 
West  and  South-West — a kind  of  nervous  affection,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  authorities,  swept  over  nearly  the  whole  South- 
Western  States  some  twenty  years  ago,  affecting  not  a dozen  or  a 
hundred,  but  sometimes  a thousand  or  two  thousand  people  at 
once,  when  they  were  gathered  together  in  open-air  “meetings.” 

This  excitability  appears  to  many  observers  peculiar  to  the  ne- 
groes; I think  the  people  here  show  it,  perhaps,  more  readily  than 
any  whites  I have  seen  ; but  any  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to 
camp-meeting  scenes  in  Indiana  and  Ohio,  a dozen  or  twenty  years 
ago,  will  find  here,  on  occasion  of  a “ shout,”  I am  sure,  something 
he  is  quite  familiar  with. 

If  you  remember  that  many  hundreds  of  these  people  ran  away 


26 


PAPER3  OF  THE  DAY. 


from  their  rebel  masters  and  came  to  our  lines  at  the  greatest  risks, 
and  well  knowing  that  dreadful  punishments  awaited  them  if 
caught,  I think  you  will  find  in  that  some  evidence  of  courage. 
The  higher  officers  here,  who  have  used  the  black  men  as  spies 
and  scouts,  will  tell  you  that  they  are  cool  and  bold  enough.  Men 
who  return  to  the  enemy’s  lines  to  steal  off  their  wives  and  child- 
ren do  not  lack  enterprise ; and  when  the  Government  awards 
medals  for  good  conduct  and  bravery  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  as 
well  as  for  honorable  and  important  services  rendered,  it  ought  not 
to  forget  Smalls,  who  brought  the  steamer  Planter  out  of  Charles- 
ton. He  is  not  the  only  one  who  has  come  out  past  Fort  Sumter. 
There  is  a sergeant  in  the  First  South-Carolina  regiment  who  came 
out  in  a small  boat,  one  dark  night,  to  the  blockading  fleet.  He 
is  black,  an  intelligent  and  fine-looking  fellow. 

I had  occasion  to  see  here,  one  day,  how  far  the  bitter  and  mean 
prejudices  of  a pro-slavery  man  will  carry  him.  Smalls,  of  the 
Planter,  was  ordered  to  go  to  the  Wabash  to  see  the  Admiral.  He 
went  alongside  in  a boat  in  which  it  happened  that  Brig.-General 
Seymour  also  was.  The  General  called  to  the  officer  of  the  deck 
and  said  to  him  : “ Officer,  this  boy  wants  to  see  the  Admiral ; will 
you  please  let  him  know  that  the  boy  is  waiting  ?”  Then  turning 
to  Smalls,  he  cried  out,  in  a sharp  voice : “ Here,  boy , you  can  go 
aboard,  and  the  officer  will  tell  you  when  the  Admiral  is  ready  to 
see  you.” 

Now  Smalls  is  not  a boy;  he  is  a man  of,  I should  think,  thirty 
years,  and  wears  a beard  sufficient  to  show  it.  I blushed  for  Gen. 
Seymour  when  I heard  him  use  the  old  cant  of  the  slave-master 
toward  this  man,  who  performed  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  bril- 
liant acts  of  the  war.  General  Seymour  is  himself  a brave  man, 
and  if  a white  man  had  done  what  Smalls  did,  he  would  no  doubt 
have  honored  him  for  it.  But  because  this  gallant  fellow  happens 
to  have  a black  skin,  he  speaks  to  him  in  away  that  seemed  to  me, 
unwillingly  listening  to  him,  contemptibly  mean. 

Smalls  was  engaged  to  be  one  of  the  pilots  to  take  in  the  fleet  to 
attack  Charleston.  He  is  thoroughly  familiar,  I am  told,  with  the 
creeks  and  intricate  channels  along  this  coast ; and  his  knowledge 
has  been  of  great  value  to  our  army  and  navy.  He  seems  a very 
quiet  man,  without  the  slightest  swagger.  How  he  looked  or  felt 
when  he  was  called  “boy”  in  this  way,  I can  not  tell  you  — for  I 
dared  not  look  in  the  poor  fellow’s  face. 


THE  FREEDMEH  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 


27 


I have  endeavored  to  give  in  these  letters  an  exact  account  of 
what  I saw  in  these  Sea  Islands,  of  the  negroes,  their  qualities  and 
character.  I can  sum  up  all,  most  briefly,  in  the  words  of  General 
Hunter,  who  said:  “In  short,  these  people  do  work,  they  are  not 
idle,  they  don’t  steal,  they  don’t  swear,  they  don’t  use  obscene  lan- 
guage, they  are  willing  and  faithful  laborers  and  servants,  polite  to 
every  body,  always  cheerful,  docile,  and  easily  ruled.” 


»•  ■ ' . « - 


u *- 
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“ No  intelligent  American  who  takes  an  interest  in  the  history  of  his  country  can  afford 
to  do  without  it.” — From  Prof.  Horace  Webster. 


As  originally  published  in  The  London  Times.  (Will  be  ready 
in  a few  days.) 


Charles  T.  Evans,  Publisher, 

448  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


